Falls Are The No. 1 Cause Of Construction Site Injuries

Thousands of construction workers are hurt every year in fallings off scaffolds. Dozens of people lose their lives.

In fact, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, has specific regulations on construction scaffolding. You find these in the Code of Federal Regulations at 29 CFR 1926. They cover standards and provide guidelines for maintaining safe scaffolds.

But the job is inherently dangerous. A huge percentage of people in the construction industry work on scaffolds – 65 percent by government estimates. For some, it’s not a matter of if, but when.


What Makes Scaffolding Dangerous?

Here’s the problem … you’re dealing with heights. It’s an unpredictable job site with moving parts and machinery. And you’re working on a temporary structure that may or may have been assembled correctly. According to OSHA, a major cause of scaffolding accidents is planking that gives way. Sufficient cross bracing may do the trick; however, that is very often overlooked.

When the support falls out from under the worker’s feet, it may be quite a drop.


How Can We Prevent Falls Off Scaffolds?

There are a number of ways to prevent falls:


  • Fall protection – like guardrails – on scaffolding higher than 10 feet
  • Guardrails not just on the length of scaffolding but on the ends as well
  • A tie-off or anchor point on suspended scaffolding (not just guardrails)

The specific type of fall protection used depends on the scaffolding type and the type of job site. It’s very important that everyone does this right. That includes the general contractor, subcontractors, third party scaffolding companies, and workers themselves.


How Can We Help Injured Construction Workers?

Even short falls can be life changing. Especially if the worker hits his head or back. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injuries are all too common and often permanent. There’s no going back after a serious fall from a construction scaffold.

But there is a way to hold people and companies accountable for their negligence.


Find The Right Lawyer With Find Injury Law

Some personal injury attorneys focus their attention on scaffolding accidents. In other words, they have specific knowledge and experience handling these types of construction accident cases. For a seriously injured worker and their family it is very comforting to know that his attorney is an expert in that particular area.

As a construction worker, you have specific expertise and skills. You depend on these for your income. If you’ve been injured and are unable to work, the medical bills pile up and future job prospects don’t look so bright.

Find Injury Law puts you back in the driver’s seat.

We find the right lawyer for you – with specific expertise on construction accidents and scaffolding falls. We find the right lawyer for you, some of whom have obtained the highest verdicts and settlements in construction accidents.

Our service is provided at no additional cost.

Based in Brooklyn, NY, we serve clients throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and in select cases nationwide.


Call Find Injury Law Today

For a free consultation, call 888-888-6470 or 718-871-4311 or contact us online now.